You didn't help me much today

It's been a weird week. I hate having a summer cold. They are intolerable. Here it is the hottest part of the year and you find yourself suffering a fever. I spent one day this week without a voice. While that might have been a blessing to those around me, it wasn't the same for me.

Last night was spent playing with my favorite gals. We made pretzels, played the piano and watched old Goofy cartoons.

As usual prayer time is always a learning experience; mostly for me. I told Meredith that prayer was talking to God, just like we would talk to any other friend. She gave it a try and thanked God for the day and all the fun she had.

As I was kneeling with Sara I told her I had been talking with her sisters about prayer and how much it can help us. She said " I know, I pray at lunch and dinner and even before I go to bed." I told her that was great. I explained that I start each day with prayer to help get my day off to a good start. She thought it over for a while and said " I might do that too, it would make my days so much better."

The most difficult part of my time with the girls is not bursting into laughter as Julia prays. She is a straight from the heart kind of gal. Last night was no exception. After thanking God for pretzels and people she loves she asked for God's help. She said "Please help me to be a good girl tomorrow, you didn't help me much today." I explained that God does help us but he expects us to do our part as well.

Glad God gives me little girls to learn from,

jene'

Happy Birthday America !

Benjamin Franklin once said the Constitution guarantees the right for each citizen to pursue happiness, it was up to everyone to catch it for himself.

I copy this alphabet guide into each new journal I start. For me it is the best way to find happiness. It began as a list that I and a very dear friend modified to suit our needs when we were both teenagers.

Accept differences.
Be kind.
Count your blessings.
Dream.
Express thanks.
Forgive.
Give freely.
Harm no one.
Imagine more.
Jettison anger.
Keep confidences.
Love truly and deeply.
Master your tongue.
Nurture more.
Open your mind.
Pray every day, all day.
Quiet your soul.
Reciprocate.
Seek wisdom.
Touch hearts.
Use your creativity.
Value truth.
Work for peace.
eXcite others. (try finding a verb that begins with "x")
Yearn for understanding.
Zealously support your family and friends.

Please feel free to make use of it for yourself.

Sincerely,

jene'

Birthday curse?

Today I became 45 years old.

Today summer began.

Today anything that could go wrong, did.

I went to work early to cover for a friend who is having surgery. Doing her job meant getting all the cash registers counted and ready to face the new day. Because we had flooding on Monday, we didn't get our regular delivery from the bank. So this morning instead of one change order to count there were two. The procedure has also changed since I last did the accounting and as I was unable to find the things I needed to do it the old way, I gave the new way a shot. While I was still trying to make my way through morning duties and find missing paperwork, a colleague was injured. As I am also a nurse my help was sought to deal with his bleeding thumb and was it ever! I asked someone else to watch over the cash while I rendered what aid I could to the "patient" before he was taken to the doctor. Between my error in counting, a clerical error with a check, and missing validation papers I found myself way behind schedule. By the time I got almost everything complete it was time to go to lunch.

Normally I go to lunch somewhere in the noon to two o'clock neighborhood. Scheduling constraints being what they were I found myself the recipient of a ten a.m. lunch hour. Deciding to make the best of it, I had breakfast.

When I finally found my way to the sales floor I came in contact with several rather unique people. It also seemed that each time I answered the phone I was destined to get the same sort of person. At this point I accepted the fact that this was to be a most unusual day. It really became quite funny to see how the day progressed and just what would happen next. Someone asked if I was under a birthday curse.

The remainder of the day included a very low tire, very slow traffic, and dropping a very, very heavy object on my foot.

You may be asking yourself if I consider this to be my worst birthday ever. The answer is no. Last year would have the title. Last year my Dad began a battle with cancer by having surgery on my birthday. This year no matter what else happens to me in the last few hours of my birthday, nothing can be as horrible as last year's. This year my dad is alive to see me have this birthday. For that reason alone, this is my best birthday ever!

Thank you God for letting me keep my daddy with me. I still need him lots.

love,

jene'

Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense

Evil (or shame) be unto him who thinks evil.

This is the motto of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Today there was a service in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle to honour them.

The service is held every year but this remembrance holds a special place in the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's eightieth birthday. For the first time her two youngest sons will take part as the newest Royal Knight Companions.

It may seem out of place in this age we live in to have such an antiquated group still in existence. I find it comforting that there are still places where honour is important and duty is treasured.

As our leaders have abandoned honour so goes the rest of the country. That's why I think it is imperative to teach our children the importance of their personal honour. We do that by demonstrating to them it is paramount to us by how we live our lives.

We can show them that " it is our choices which make us who we are."* We can teach them to choose "what is right over what is easy."* Both of these are taught by our living them.

Wanting to be a living lesson,

jene'

*J.K. Rowling via Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter Series. Many good life lessons can be found in great literature.

My Dad

Just as my mum has been the inspiration for who I want to be, my dad has been the same for my standards to look for in men I want to spend time with.

The way he loves the Lord,
the way he cherishes my mum,
the way he steadfastly supports all of his children,
and the way he plays with his grandchildren
make him a truly wonderful man.

Happy Father's Day.

I love you,

jene'

Legacy

Today is my Aunt Frances' birthday. It's not really important how old she is, what is important is what she has done with her years.

I am very blessed to have her and many like her in my life. The generations of my family that came before me left me with a legacy of faith that is impossible to ignore. That is the greatest gift they could give me. Things are nice, but they break and fade. Faith is alive and grows as it is passed from one generation to the next.

Still, you can't just take the faith of your ancestors as your own. You must claim it for yourself and bring your offering to it for the generation to follow you.

I probably won't have much to leave my nieces and nephews in the way of monetary rewards. What I do hope they will get from me is a blueprint for how to build a life in Christ. This can be a daunting thing. It can be quite humbling to remember that everything you do is a lesson for those who look to you for guidance.

I hope I do as good a job as my Aunt Frances has done.

Thankful for my family,

-jene'

Truth

What has over 3,000 legs, lots of enthusiasm, and a noise level that can rattle your brain?

Vacation Bible School at Grace Presbyterian Church.

I volunteered to work VBS on Monday and will do so again tomorrow. I can honestly say a good time was had by all. It was great to see the church filled with young and old.

I spent quite a bit of time chatting with several children and each were so candid in their comments. " I liked the story but it won't be a good movie" " The food was o.k." "Aren't you too old to be in vacation Bible School ?" When I replied I was just helping out he asked me how old I was. When I told him his eyes got big and said " Wow, what's it like to be that old ?"

For the most part children default to the truth. I find it totally refreshing and it's why I love to spend time with kids.

Last week Julia and I were once again at her bedside while she prayed. She thanked God for the nice day. Thanked Him for His help with her being a better girl today than yesterday. ( I didn't ask what prompted that comment) She then came out with what was quite possibly the truest thing I have ever heard. She said " Thank you for my sisters cause I love them so much......most of the time."

I'm sure there are many siblings who have felt the exact same way.

-jene'

Road trip

Those words used to bring anticipation of fun times and great memories. After last weekend they bring a sense of foreboding and the anticipation of great pain.

I made my first long car trip home since my arthritis has been intense. I drive a Nissan Sentra. It is a little car and the roads we crossed were very bumpy. Even with my roommate doing most of the driving I was in pretty bad shape. I was glad we had left early in the morning as I needed the rest of the day to try to recuperate.

I took many drugs, some of them narcotic in nature, and made it to my nephew's Graduation party. I also made it to the ceremony in time to see him receive his diploma. For this I am eternally grateful and think it was worth every bit of pain. I would have hated to miss out on his big moment.

The weekend did have some fun moments with nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers and parents. We got to catch up on each others lives, play games with the little ones, and have generally silly times which happen often when my family gathers together.

We came back a day early so I could have a day to rest before returning to work. I think I'll be back to my usual levels of pain soon. I told my mom the next time I come home it would be in a bigger car or an airplane.

Sore but still here,

-jene'

This and that

I've learned new things recently. Spending time with children teaches me much. The girls and I set up a mini-spa in the family room the other night. One sister would be the massage recipient while the other two would help me give the massage. Conversation was abundant and varied.

We turned the lights down low and put on some Celtic music. We discussed many important and unimportant issues. Why lotion should be warm before you slap it on your sister's back. The need (or not) for matching knickers for twins. Why God likes it when you help someone even if they don't ask for it. Why you sometimes shouldn't help your sister especially if she doesn't ask for it. How it makes Jesus happy when you listen to your daddy. I was told Jesus is the most important thing ever so making Him happy is a big deal.

It was fun to sit and listen to them chatting. At one point Meredith told Sara she was the best big sister in the whole world. She said " I hope we can be together forever." Those moments are golden, you can't arrange them they just happen.

After finishing off the "spa" time we gathered in the little girls room for story time and prayers. Meredith says the same prayer every night. She says God is expecting it and she doesn't want to let Him down.

Julia treats each prayer time as a chance to bring anything and everything to the Lord. What happened to her that day, help to be a good girl and why she loves God are usually present in her prayers. It is awesome that a four year old child has figured out what prayer is supposed to be.

I love that God uses children to teach me so much.

Learning more,

jene'

My mum

I am who I am thanks to her enormous influence.

She is who I want to be.

Most importantly she is one of the best friends I will ever have.

Thank you God for giving me to her.

With much love and appreciation,

jene'